Tall Order

The Plunk Desk is the new work essential

We all know a sedentary lifestyle--that’s sitting at a desk all day, folks--is a big health no-no, causing everything from high cholesterol to, well, a fat butt. The solution is one of those new standing desks--except most of them look like something made in shop class from scrap metal.

Handcrafted in Los Angeles from curved wood and aluminum, it seems more like a delicate music stand than a writing workhorse. But it’s tough; you can lean on the 20-by-15-inch desktop, which adjusts from 25 to 42 inches high, and pound your laptop keys without fear of the thing collapsing.

The whole portable contraption weighs only eight pounds, so it’s easy to screw apart and carry in its matching waxed canvas bag ($295) with high-density foam compartments. You can carry it to your office or coffee shop, then back home again. (Or simply make it a fixture in your home office.)

Designer Erin Strater dreamed up the Plunk to be an addition to the desk you have now--because who wants to stand all day long, anyway? And even if you find yourself going back to your slothful, seated ways full-time, the Plunk Desk makes a handsome display table for a beautiful coffee-table book.